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Thaddeus Strassberger, stage director

Opera Lively has interviewed acclaimed American operatic stage director Thaddeus Strassberger. Brace yourselves, readers. This is a long interview, but worth every line of it. We believe it is one of the most interesting interviews with an operatic artist we have ever read - no, we are not being immodest and attributing the interest to Opera Lively's questions, but rather to Mr. Strassberger's answers. [Opera Lively interview #31]

Be prepared to maybe change your views about Regietheater; to think in a more informed way about when to update opera; to reflect upon how we should be staging Verdi, and to enhance your understanding of what operatic stage direction entails.

Mr. Strassberger gave us a true lesson on how to stage opera, not only walking us through every step of the creative process, but also introducing comments and concepts that are precious and rich in information. So doing, he demonstrated sophisticated knowledge of the field and true passion for the art form.

Some of his views may be seen by certain readers as controversial, but he is very articulate and proposes strong argumentation in favor of his vision. We expect that this interview will generate an interesting debate, so feel free to use the 'comments' field at will.

Our thanks to Mr. Strassberger's manager Mr. Albert Imperato and his associate Mr. Devon Estes, both from 21C Media Group, who made arrangements for the interview.